Hiroshima, 8:15: The Lost Memoir

A newly discovered firsthand account of the Hiroshima bombing and its aftermath from one of the survivors--bringing unprecedented immediacy to our understanding of this world-changing event.

"A stunning historical discovery and a heartrending testimony." --Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of American Prometheus

At approximately 8:15 on the morning of August 6, 1945, Kiyoshi Tanimoto was on the outskirts of Hiroshima when a flash in the sky signaled the birth of a horrifying new world. In an instant, tens of thousands of Hiroshima residents had been vaporized or crushed to death.

As Tanimoto, a thirty-six-year-old Methodist minister, raced back to the city center in search of his wife and infant daughter, he encountered unimaginable devastation: structures leveled; fires everywhere; uncountable injured suffering from burns, broken bones, and the effects of radiation. In the days, weeks, and months that followed this unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, he invested body and soul in helping his living congregants obtain food, shelter, and medical care, as well as identifying and burying with as much dignity as possible those who had perished. He dedicated himself to rebuilding not only his church, but his city and his nation.

Tanimoto went on to gain renown as one of the survivors featured in John Hersey's New Yorker piece and book, Hiroshima, which changed the American public's understanding of the event. But Tanimoto also wrote his own story. Hiroshima, 8:15 is Tanimoto's never-before-published firsthand account of the bombing of Hiroshima, written in the immediate aftermath, in his own words.

This singular memoir is both an invaluable addition to the historical record and an urgent eyewitness testimony of one of the most calamitous events to befall humanity. At a time when the threat of nuclear war still looms, Tanimoto's message of peace, and his vision of a better path forward for humankind, is of vital importance.

Author: Kiyoshi Tanimoto
Publisher: Modern Library
Published: 08/04/2026
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.79lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.70w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9798217197972


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/15/2026
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2026

About the Author
Kiyoshi Tanimoto (1909-1986) was a Japanese Methodist minister who was educated in part in the United States, studying at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Shortly after returning to Japan, in 1943, he moved to Hiroshima to become pastor of the Nagarekawa Methodist Church, and was later profiled in John Hersey's Hiroshima. Tanimoto became a well-known speaker and proponent of peace in both Japan and the United States, and dedicated the rest of his life to helping Hiroshima victims, telling their stories, and advocating for an end to nuclear warfare.